Chapter 137
Chapter 137
There were ten safe white sections, ten black sections, ten red sections, and only one gold section.
Judging by probability alone, the Mad Hatter’s roulette game seemed fair.
But was it truly?
How many punishments could a player endure? The first cost a pinky. What would the second take?
A weight suddenly appeared on the right side of every scale. The Mad Hatter announced,
“If the value of your words outweighs the right side, you may spin the roulette once. Otherwise, you receive one punishment by default.”
Ignoring the players still writhing in pain and despair, the Mad Hatter raised an index finger. “First question: name something you like, or something you enjoy doing. Let us begin with you.”
The Mad Hatter pointed at the brown-haired woman who had started on a white section like Xiao Huai.
The woman froze, not expecting to answer first. After thinking for a moment, she said, “I-I care a lot about my appearance. If I have to name something I like doing, then I suppose it’s becoming more beautiful.”
As soon as she finished, the scale began to change. An invisible force pressed weight onto the left side.
The brown-haired woman’s eyes widened. Swallowing hard, she stared desperately at both sides, longing for the moment the left outweighed the right.
Three seconds later, her wish came true. The left side sank below the right. She had succeeded.
Her words were worth more than the single weight on the right.
The black pointer at the center of the roulette wheel immediately began spinning wildly.
One bout of anxiety had barely ended before the brown-haired woman was swept into another.
This time, she asked only that she not land on black. She did not want to. She did not want another punishment!
The pointer spun for a long time. As it slowed, it passed red, then white, before creeping between a black and a white section.
The woman nearly screamed. She dropped to her knees, clasped her hands, and even began kowtowing. “Please, please!! Anything but black! Anything!”
The Mad Hatter narrowed those eyes, watching her suffer.
As though answering her thoughts once more, the pointer moved another millimeter and landed on white.
In reality, the entire process had taken only five seconds, but tears already covered the brown-haired woman’s face. She had been terrified.
Her entire body shook uncontrollably.
No one knew whether the punishments would grow progressively worse, but everyone knew how mad the host of this game was.
The brown-haired woman instantly teleported onto the white section indicated by the pointer. The white section where she had stood before crumbled to dust and vanished from the sea.
That section was gone. Looking through the gap, they could even see the sea rabbit darting about beneath the water.
The roulette wheel remained still. Only the pointer moved.
Nine white sections remained.
So that was how it worked. With each round, fewer sections would remain. Even if everyone was lucky enough to avoid black…
How much pressure would they face near the end, when only black sections remained?
The gold section was their only way out, yet the odds of landing on it were abysmally low.
The game looked fair, but in truth it drove its players toward death.
The Mad Hatter sighed in boredom, then pointed toward the bespectacled man who was still groaning in pain. “You.”
The man glared viciously at the Mad Hatter, instantly regretted it, then caved and nodded. “Understood…”
He named something he liked. This time, fortune favored him. Not only did his scale pass, but the pointer landed on red. A hand emerged from a fissure and offered him a gift box.
He opened it excitedly and discovered a healing potion inside.
Hope suddenly returned. The bespectacled man nearly cheered and jumped for joy, but he forcibly suppressed his emotions and used the potion with feigned calm.
Unexpectedly, the Mad Hatter even commented, “Congratulations.”
The man had not expected a response. He answered awkwardly, “Thank you…”
The girl in the short skirt went next. Seeing another punished player receive a healing potion filled her with hope, and she named the things she liked without hesitation.
Then something unexpected happened…
Her scale balanced perfectly against the weight on the right.
Perhaps she was too excited and had listed too many things she supposedly liked.
The good fortune she anticipated never came. The Mad Hatter laughed softly, the sound gradually rising in pitch.
“How unfortunate. It balanced.”
Balance meant misfortune? What would happen to her?
Boundless pressure rolled over her. Blood pounded toward her heart, leaving her almost unable to breathe.
She had even prepared herself to die, but nothing happened apart from a black line appearing around her neck, as though it had been stitched there with thread.
She felt nothing else. She remained on the black section beneath her, which had not disappeared.
The Mad Hatter had already turned toward the young man.
He had received a reward in the first settlement and now stood on a white section, making him fairly lucky.
“Your turn.” The Mad Hatter looked at Xiao Qian. “What do you like?” The question was repeated for him.
Xiao Huai also looked over. Only after a pause did Xiao Qian answer,
“I like money, because money buys freedom.”
The left side sank far below the right. The pointer spun, and Xiao Qian landed on red once more, receiving another gift box.
The Mad Hatter’s gaze settled on Xiao Huai. “Xiao Huai, what is your answer?”
Xiao Huai was the last to answer. This time, not only the Mad Hatter but every other player watched him.
They were all waiting to hear what he would say.
Yet Xiao Huai offered only four short words: “My name is Li Ming.”
Every player fell silent.
The Mad Hatter frowned.
Everyone knew Xiao Huai’s real name, yet he still claimed to be Li Ming.
But the moment he spoke, the value of his words had to be assessed.
This time, the left side was lighter than the right.
Xiao Huai had failed.
He would be punished.
Yet the corners of Xiao Huai’s lips curved faintly, as though someone else were about to suffer.
Only Xiao Qian understood what he was doing.
He was personally testing the standard by which the scale judged the value of their words.
The brown-haired woman and the young man gradually understood his implication as well.
He had lied about his name.
A lie held no value. How could it possibly outweigh even one weight?
The girl in the short skirt went pale. There had indeed been a problem with her earlier answer.
In her panic, she had padded her response with things she did not ordinarily like.
The false answers mixed with the true, producing a perfect balance.
The Mad Hatter looked at Xiao Huai and seemed to sigh helplessly.
“You simply cannot resist probing the rules. Even when you know the consequences, you still have to test them?”
Xiao Huai lowered his eyes and said nothing.
In almost the same instant, three fingers on his right hand were severed.
Blood gushed out, dyeing the white section beneath him red.